PROTECTING MILITARY SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS

FROM:  U.S. AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND
Capt. Tracy "Mickey" Lloyd, deployed as the theater space integrator for the director of space forces, searches through the embedded GPS/inertial navigation system unit to see the differences in loading/zeroiziing keys on a KC-135 Stratotanker. This was part of her endeavor to enable the airframes to use encrypted GPS. (U.S. Air Force photo/courtesy photo)
Space operator, KC-135 crews team together to realize space effects.

by Jennifer Thibault
50th Space Wing Public Affairs

5/1/2012 - SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- More and more are realizing the "game-changing" force space capabilities provide in today's operations, as was the case more than 60 years ago when the air domain added a new dimension to land and sea operations. The power of that integration was seen first-hand by crews of the KC-135 Stratotanker force recently in Southwest Asia, thanks to Capt. Tracy "Mickey" Lloyd, a deployed member of the director of space forces team.

Charged with conducting protected military satellite communications with the 4th Space Operations Squadron at her home station of Schriever Air Force Base, she deployed as the theater space integrator for the Director of Space Forces, Col. Clint Crosier. In this capacity, she worked to more effectively integrate space effects into overall theater operations; the majority of her time was focused on increased integration of GPS into deliberate planning.

"I learned during the deployment that according to Air Mobility Command guidance, the KC-135 crews were restricted from using the Precise Positioning Service, or the encrypted, more precise GPS service in certain conditions and during certain phases of flight," said Lloyd. "That didn't seem like we were fully leveraging the GPS capability the way it was intended, so I began a 'science project' with the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron Assistant Director of Operations, Maj. [Lawrence] Osiecki."

Lloyd began researching the KC-135 navigation systems through their technical orders and Air Force Tactics, Techniques and Procedures 3-1 and quickly became an expert in how the GPS system works onboard. She and Osiecki then began a series of tests on the jet to load and zeroize keys to fully document the operation of the navigation system across all of its possible configurations. They observed how the KC-135's systems responded with and without keys and came to the conclusion that the current guidance was outdated based on recent system upgrades. Armed with this knowledge, she set out to engage with AMC and the director of mobility forces to explore rescinding the guidance.

"Our research and observations showed that there were no operational grounds for not using the encrypted GPS signal across all phases of flight," said Lloyd. "I coordinated with AMC and the [director of mobility forces] and they believed in what we were trying to do. Armed with the desire to rescind the guidance, they began to champion the cause with us."

With their support, Lloyd and team were successful in rescinding the guidance just five days before she redeployed, affecting an operational policy change improving the navigational capability of the entire KC-135 fleet worldwide.

"My goal was to have guidance rescinded before I returned home, I didn't want to leave it for the next person," she said.

"Captain Lloyd was a great asset to our team," said Crosier. "Not only did she see the big picture of how space integrates across all domains, but she had a knack for interacting with others and helping them realize space effects in their realm. Her work on the KC-135 issue affected a global policy change--how many captains have that kind of impact?"

Lloyd also led a special project for Lt. Gen. David Goldfein, commander of Air Forces Central Command, to optimize how GPS effects were planned and integrated into other components' deliberate planning efforts. Through her work, she developed a key partnership with the Joint Navigation Warfare Center and ground-breaking new procedures the JNWC has now implemented as their global standard for all joint planning. The project also took her to brief Lt. Gen. Vince Brooks, commander of Army Forces Central Command and Vice Adm. Mark Fox, commander of Naval Forces Central Command, which led both ARCENT and NVCENT to implement new procedures as a result of her work.

"The results of this project were really amazing" said Crosier. "Captain Lloyd's work with the JNWC team took the integration and deliberate planning of GPS effects to the most robust level in CENTCOM history. Tracy ended up being coined by the AFCENT commander, ARCENT commander and NAVCENT commander for her work. Tracy could be the first captain anywhere in CENTCOM, and certainly the first space officer, to get coined by all three service 3-stars in a single deployment--that's a real testament to the value our senior leaders place on the need for effective space integration."

Before deploying, Lloyd conducted some research with her predecessor.

"He recommended I learn as much as I could on GPS," Lloyd recalled.

Her squadron commander supported predeployment training to meet up with Crosier at the JNWC and get a head start on the project she would lead in theater. She also worked with Capt. Bryony Veater, the weapons officer at the 2nd Space Operations Squadron to learn more about operations and products. In visiting with the JNWC and 2 SOPS, she created a solid network foundation that helped her navigate issues in theater.

"This was my first deployment and I could not have asked for anything better," said Lloyd. "I found it very rewarding to identify issues and set out to solve them and help others realize the continuous process improvement throughout all aspects of the deployed environment."

In theater, Lloyd was assigned to 12 hour shifts during which she would identify issues and develop solutions.

"Captain Franz Brunner, the [DS4] national technical integrator, and I referred to them as science projects," said Lloyd. "We'd try out new ideas and if we were able to prove our hypothesis, then we would work to determine how best to integrate them into current operations."

Lloyd credits some of her in-theater success to her weapons school training and to being open-minded.

"I was open to learning and teaching others throughout my deployment. Most people appreciated space but were inquisitive of other platforms and weapons systems," she said. "I reached out to our joint and coalition partners to learn more about our users to discover better ways of supporting them. We can't just know our space systems, we have to know how [they're used] in operations. Weapons school taught me the importance of not only being an expert in space systems, but to use that knowledge for improved integration. And then to teach that integration to the space community and also to current and potential customers."

She said this integration enabled the most rewarding aspect of her deployment, "Watching and knowing others are applying their new-found space knowledge and that they will take it with them and share with others compounding the cross functional awareness of space effects."

Back at home, Lloyd is settling back into family life with her husband and two sons.
"Being separated from them was hard, but I knew I had superstar support at home keeping it all on track," she said.

DOJ INVESTIGATES UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA, LOCAL POLICE AND PROSECUTOR REGARDING RESPONSES TO SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Justice Department Announces Investigations of the Handling of Sexual Assault Allegations by the University of Montana, the Missoula, Mont., Police Department and the Missoula County Attorney’s OfficeIn Light of at Least 80 Reported Rapes in Missoula in the Past Three Years, the Justice Department Will Investigate Responses to Sexual Assault Allegations

The Department of Justice today announced a series of investigations stemming from allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment at the University of Montana and in the greater Missoula, Mont., community.   These investigations will seek to determine whether gender discrimination affected the prevention, investigation and prosecution of sexual assaults and sexual harassment in Missoula.

The department has opened a Title IX compliance review and Title IV investigation regarding the University of Montana’s response to sexual assaults and sexual harassment of students.  Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 each prohibit sex discrimination, including sexual assault and sexual harassment, in education programs.  There have been at least 11 reported sexual assaults involving university students in an 18-month period.  The department will also coordinate with the Department of Education on a related sexual harassment complaint received by that department.

The Justice Department also announced today that it has opened a civil pattern or practice investigation into the University of Montana’s Office of Public Safety (OPS), the Missoula Police Department (MPD) and the Missoula County Attorney’s Office.  This investigation will focus on allegations that OPS, MPD and the Missoula County Attorney’s Office are failing to adequately investigate and prosecute alleged sexual assaults against women in Missoula, due to gender discrimination in violation of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and the anti-discrimination provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.  There have been at least 80 alleged rapes in Missoula in the past three years.  The investigation will look at assaults against all women in Missoula, not just university students.

Department officials met with city, police and university officials, who pledged their full cooperation with the investigations.
 
“The allegations that the University of Montana, the local police department and the County Attorney’s Office failed to adequately address sexual assaults are very disturbing,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “The department's pattern or practice authority enables us to ensure that law enforcement agencies are doing what is necessary to combat this despicable crime without discrimination, and we take that responsibility seriously.”

“Sexual assault and sexual harassment are intolerable; they undermine women’s basic rights and, when perpetrated against students, can negatively impact their ability to learn and continue their education,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.   “As we approach the 40th anniversary of Title IX this year, incidents of sexual assault on our college campuses remind us of the continuing critical importance of the law to reduce barriers in education. Our goal is to determine whether there are violations of federal law and if we find a problem, work cooperatively with the University of Montana and local law enforcement to ensure that all students and Missoula residents feel safe in their communities, regardless of sex.   We salute President Engstrom’s commitment to address these serious problems.”

“Colleges and universities have an obligation to stop and prevent sexual violence against their students, and law enforcement has a fundamental duty to ensure it is properly investigating and prosecuting crimes of sexual assault, whether they occur at the university or in the wider Missoula community,” said Michael W. Cotter , U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana.  “We look forward to working with the University of Montana and local law enforcement to ensure these vital obligations are met.”

The department previously found a pattern or practice of gender discrimination in the New Orleans Police Department.   Similarly, the department found problems of significant concern involving the handling of sex crimes in both the Puerto Rico Police Department and the Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff’s Office.

Attorneys from the Educational Opportunities Section and the Special Litigation Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana are jointly conducting this investigation.

GENERAL DEMPSEY'S SPEECH ON NEW NATIONAL DEFENSE STRATEGY

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., May 1, 2012. DOD photo by Army Staff Sgt. Sun L. Vega
General Dempsey Explains Defense Strategy at Nation's Oldest 'Think Tank'
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2012 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today discussed the new national defense strategy and its core pillars in remarks at the nation's oldest international affairs "think tank."

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey spoke at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, founded in 1910 as a private, nonprofit organization.

"Over the past months we've formulated what I guess is now being called a new defense strategy," Dempsey said. "It's built on a [Quadrennial Defense Review], of course, but it's new in several important ways."

One of the aspects of the strategy is rebalancing U.S. forces with emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region. During a visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels last week, he said, he was asked with "great interest" what rebalancing means.

"I suggested to them that it's a process – not a light switch. We'll work our way into it," he said. "It starts with intellectual bandwidth more than anything. We have to shift some of our intellectual bandwidth and start to understand how rebalance ourselves so it's not just about our resources, equipment or basing. "It's about thinking, and we are beginning that process now."

The chairman said the second pillar of the strategy, and one of its cornerstones, is building partners, and not because the United States will be doing less. Rather, he said, it's because the world over the last decade or two has become a "security paradox" that has seen a proliferation of capabilities and technologies to middleweight actors and nonstate actors. That he said, "actually makes the world feel, and potentially be, more dangerous than any time I remember in uniform."

Dempsey noted that he came into the Army in 1974.
"It's not a paradox that necessarily has to be met with bigger military forces," he said. "I think it's a paradox that has to be met with different military forces. And among the things that will make that work [is] our ability to build on existing partnerships around the globe, notably the North Atlantic alliance, [and] others as well."

Adversaries rarely mass against the United States and its allies any more, the general pointed out. "They decentralize, they network and they syndicate," he said, making development of emerging partnerships especially important now.

Adversaries use 21st-century information technologies to syndicate groups of "criminal actors," the chairman said -- groups that come together based on moments in time when they want to find a common purpose and pull apart otherwise.

"But we, the quintessential hierarchical institution on the face of the planet ... have to find ways to be a network ourselves," he said. "And that means a network of interagency partners internal to our government."

The chairman conceded that building partnerships isn't an easy endeavor, and acknowledged a need to improve processes in intelligence sharing, technology transfer, foreign military sales -- processes he said "tend to somewhat hinder our ability to build partners."

The final aspect of the new strategy, Dempsey said, is the integration of capabilities the military didn't have 10 years ago, such as the cyber and special operations capabilities and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology that exist today. Other capabilities originally considered niche capabilities now are being integrated into conventional ways of operating, he noted.

"We've moved now from writing our new strategy to beginning to challenge ourselves on what it will really take to do everything," he said. "And the three things I mentioned here today to you ... really are the key to that endeavor."

PRESIDENT SIGNS NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER TARGETING FOREIGN SANCTIONS EVADERS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY
FACT SHEET: New Executive Order Targeting Foreign Sanctions Evaders
WASHINGTON – Today the President signed an Executive Order (E.O.), “Prohibiting
Certain Transactions with and Suspending Entry into the United States of Foreign Sanctions Evaders with Respect to Iran and Syria,” providing the U.S. Treasury Department with a new authority to tighten further the U.S. sanctions on Iran and Syria.

This E.O. targets foreign individuals and entities that have violated, attempted to violate, conspired to violate, or caused a violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran or Syria, or that have facilitated deceptive transactions for persons subject to U.S. sanctions concerning Syria or Iran. With this new authority, Treasury now has the capability to publicly identify foreign individuals and entities that have engaged in these evasive and deceptive activities, and generally bar access to the U.S. financial and commercial systems.

“The foreign sanctions evaders E.O. provides Treasury additional means to impose serious consequences on foreign persons who seek to evade our sanctions and undermine international efforts to bring pressure to bear on the Iranian and Syrian regimes. Whoever tries to evade our sanctions does so at the expense of the people of Syria and Iran, and they will be held accountable,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen.

Upon Treasury’s identification and listing of a foreign sanctions evader, U.S. persons will generally be prohibited from providing to, or procuring from, the sanctioned party goods, services, or technology, effectively cutting the evader off from the U.S. marketplace. This provides Treasury with a powerful new tool to prevent, deter, and respond to the risks posed by sanctions evaders to the U.S. and global financial system. It also will help prevent U.S. persons from unwittingly engaging in transactions with foreign individuals and entities that pose a particular risk of running afoul of U.S. sanctions concerning Iran or Syria.

The foreign sanctions evaders E.O. is the latest in a broad-based and escalating series of steps taken by the United States and its international partners targeting the governments of Iran and Syria with respect to their abuse of human rights, support for terrorism, and proliferation and development of weapons of mass destruction. The foreign sanctions evaders E.O. follows by one week the Executive Order Blocking The Property And Suspending Entry into the United States of Certain Persons with Respect to Grave Human Rights Abuses by the Governments of Iran and Syria via Information Technology (the “GHRAVITY E.O.”), which targeted the provision and use of information and communications technology to facilitate computer or network disruption, monitoring, or tracking that could assist in or enable serious human rights abuses by or on behalf of the Government of Iran or the Government of Syria.

NIGHT-WARMING EFFECT NOTICED OVER LARGE WIND FARMS

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Photo:  USDA
Scientists Find Night-Warming Effect Over Large Wind Farms in Texas
April 29, 2012
Large wind farms in certain areas in the United States appear to affect local land surface temperatures, according to a paper published today in the journal Nature Climate Change.
The study, led by Liming Zhou, an atmospheric scientist at the State University of New York- (SUNY) Albany, provides insights about the possible effects of wind farms.
The results could be important for developing efficient adaptation and management strategies to ensure long-term sustainability of wind power.

"This study indicates that land surface temperatures have warmed in the vicinity of large wind farms in west-central Texas, especially at night," says Anjuli Bamzai, program director in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, which funded the research.

"The observations and analyses are for a relatively short period, but raise important issues that deserve attention as we move toward an era of rapid growth in wind farms in our quest for alternate energy sources."

Considerable research has linked the carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels with rising global temperatures.

Consequently, many nations are moving toward cleaner sources of renewable energy such as wind turbines. Generating wind power creates no emissions, uses no water and is likely "green."

"We need to better understand the system with observations, and better describe and model the complex processes involved, to predict how wind farms may affect future weather and climate," said Zhou.

There have been a growing number of studies of wind farm effects on weather and climate, primarily using numerical models due to the lack of observations over wind farms.
As numerical models are computationally intensive and have uncertainties in simulating regional and local weather and climate, said Zhou, remote sensing is likely the most efficient and effective way to study wind farm effects over larger spatial and longer temporal scales.

To understand the potential impact of wind farms on local weather and climate, Zhou's team analyzed satellite-derived land surface temperatures from regions around large wind farms in Texas for the period 2003-2011.

The researchers found a night-time warming effect over wind farms of up to 0.72 degrees Celsius per decade over the nine-year-period in which data were collected.
Because the spatial pattern of warming mirrors the geographic distribution of wind turbines, the scientists attribute the warming primarily to wind farms.
The year-to-year land surface temperature over wind farms shows a persistent upward trend from 2003 to 2011, consistent with the increasing number of operational wind turbines with time.

"This warming effect is most likely caused by the turbulence in turbine wakes acting like fans to pull down warmer near-surface air from higher altitudes at night," said Somnath Baidya Roy of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a co-author of the paper.
While the warming effect reported is local and small compared to the strong background year-to-year land surface temperature variation, the authors believe that this work draws attention to an important scientific issue that requires further investigation.
"The estimated warming trends only apply to the study region and to the study period, and thus should not be interpolated into other regions, globally or over longer periods," Zhou said. "For a given wind farm, once there are no new wind turbines added, the warming effect may reach a stable level."

The study represents a first step in exploring the potential of using satellite data to quantify the possible effects of the development of big wind farms on weather and climate, said Chris Thorncroft of SUNY-Albany, a co-author of the paper.
"We're expanding this approach to other wind farms," said Thorncroft, "and building models to understand the physical processes and mechanisms driving the interactions of wind turbines and the atmosphere boundary layer near the surface."

SIGNALING POSITION OF USS GEORGE H. W. BUSH AIRCRAFT CARRIER

ATLANTIC OCEAN (April 30, 2012) Quartermaster 3rd Class Jason X. Pabon prepares to signal the position of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) to the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1) during an ordnance transfer. George H.W. Bush is in the Atlantic Ocean conducting carrier qualifications. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Leonard Adams Jr./Released)

PRESIDENT REPORTS ON CURRENT MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN

Photo:  White House

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

President Updates Nation on Afghanistan Mission

By Jim Garamone

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2012 - After joining Afghan President Hamid Karzai in signing a strategic partnership agreement in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul today, President Barack Obama took to the airwaves at Bagram Airfield to update the American people on the mission in Afghanistan.

The speech from the large NATO base about 35 miles from Kabul was the last event of an eventful night that saw the president fly in to Afghanistan, sign the agreement and meet with American service members.

Bagram is the headquarters for the International Security Assistance Force's Regional Command East, and is an outpost for the war on al-Qaida. Obama said it is important for Americans to remember why U.S. service members are in such a place. "Here, in Afghanistan, more than half a million of our sons and daughters have sacrificed to protect our country," he said.

Afghanistan was where Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror group planned, trained and financed the attacks that killed almost 3,000 men, women and children on Sept. 11, 2001. "And so, 10 years ago, the United States and our allies went to war to make sure that al-Qaida could never again use this country to launch attacks against us," the president said.

American and anti-Taliban Afghan groups had initial success, but bin Laden and his lieutenants escaped across the border and established safe havens in Pakistan. "America spent nearly eight years fighting a different war in Iraq, and al-Qaida's extremist allies within the Taliban have waged a brutal insurgency," the president said.

But the tide has turned, he added, and the Taliban's momentum has been broken.

"We've built strong Afghan security forces," the president said. "We devastated al-Qaida's leadership, taking out over 20 of their top 30 leaders. And one year ago, from a base here in Afghanistan, our troops launched the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. The goal that I set – to defeat al-Qaida and deny it a chance to rebuild – is now within reach."

The president said the key to completing the mission is transitioning security responsibility to Afghans. He noted that half of the population of the country is already protected by Afghan soldiers and police, and the Afghans are prepared to move into the lead in other parts of the nation. At the NATO summit in Chicago later this month, he said, leaders will endorse a plan to turn security responsibility over to the Afghans in 2013.

"International troops will continue to train, advise and assist the Afghans, and fight alongside them when needed," Obama said. "But we will shift into a support role as Afghans step forward."

American forces already have started coming home. In 2011, 10,000 troops from the Afghan surge returned to their bases. Another 23,000 will return by the end of September. "After that, reductions will continue at a steady pace, with more and more of our troops coming home," the president said. "And as our coalition agreed, by the end of 2014, the Afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country."

The coalition is working to train Afghan soldiers and police to shoulder that security burden. This summer there will be 352,000 members of the Afghan security forces. As it stands, Afghanistan will field an army and police force at that number for three years, and then reduce the size of the force.

The United States is building an enduring partnership with Afghanistan, the president said, citing the strategic partnership agreement he and Karzai signed earlier at the presidential palace in Kabul. "It establishes the basis of our cooperation over the next decade, including shared commitments to combat terrorism and strengthen democratic institutions," Obama said. "It supports Afghan efforts to advance development and dignity for their people. And it includes Afghan commitments to transparency and accountability, and to protect the human rights of all Afghans – men and women, boys and girls."

Within this agreement, the president explained, the United States will work with Afghan partners to accomplish two narrow security missions beyond 2014: counterterrorism and continued training. "But we will not build permanent bases in this country, nor will we be patrolling its cities and mountains. That will be the job of the Afghan people," he said.

The United States is working with Afghan government leaders to negotiate a peace in the country. "My administration has been in direct discussions with the Taliban," Obama said. "We have made it clear that they can be a part of this future if they break with al-Qaida, renounce violence, and abide by Afghan laws."

Many members of the Taliban are looking at this offered hand, and many already have taken it, the president said. "A path to peace is now set before them," said he added. "Those who refuse to walk it will face strong Afghan security forces, backed by the United States and our allies."

Finally, the United States seeks to build a global consensus to support peace and stability in South Asia, and needs Pakistan to be part of the process. "It can and should be an equal partner in this process in a way that respects Pakistan's sovereignty, interests and democratic institutions," he said. "In pursuit of a durable peace, America has no designs beyond an end to al-Qaida safe-havens and respect for Afghan sovereignty."

Working on a timeline provides a sense of urgency, spares treasure and saves lives, Obama said. "Our goal is to destroy al-Qaida, and we are on a path to do exactly that," he added. "Afghans want to assert their sovereignty and build a lasting peace. That requires a clear timeline to wind down the war."

Withdrawing immediately, he said, would leave Afghanistan vulnerable to a new civil war and re-establishment of terrorist safe havens. "We must give Afghanistan the opportunity to stabilize," he said. "Otherwise, our gains could be lost, and al-Qaida could establish itself once more. And as commander in chief, I refuse to let that happen."

The best course, Obama said, is to end the war responsibly.

"My fellow Americans, we have traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war," he said. "Yet here, in the pre-dawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon. The Iraq War is over. The number of our troops in harm's way has been cut in half, and more will soon be coming home. We have a clear path to fulfill our mission in Afghanistan, while delivering justice to al-Qaida."

The future is possible, the president said, because of American service members, who have deployed to Afghanistan and other dangerous areas time and again.

"In an age when so many institutions have come up short, these Americans stood tall," he said. "They met their responsibilities to one another, and the flag they serve under. I just met with some of them, and told them that as commander in chief, I could not be prouder. In their faces, we see what is best in ourselves and our country."

Obama stressed that America must honor its debts to these service members. "We must give our veterans and military families the support they deserve, and the opportunities they have earned," he said. "And we must redouble our efforts to build a nation worthy of their sacrifice."
 

COMMANDER IN CHIEF ADDRESS ON AFGHNISTAN

Commander in Chief Address

USS UNDERWOOD DURING LIVE-FIRE EXERCISE

FROM:  U.S. NAVY
ATLANTIC OCEAN (April 28, 2012) The Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate USS Underwood (FFG 36) fires the MK-75 76mm/62-caliber gun during a live-fire exercise. Underwood is underway for a composite training unit exercise before deploying to Central and South America and the Caribbean for Southern Seas 2012. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stuart Phillips/Released)

MAY IS ASTHMA AWARENESS MONTH

FROM:  EPA
EPA Works to Help the Nearly 26 Million Americans with Asthma
Highlights Asthma Awareness Month in May 
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is encouraging Americans to take action against asthma by learning more about the disease and how it affects their families and communities. Nearly 26 million Americans, including more than 7 million children, are affected by this chronic respiratory disease, including low income and minority populations at the highest rates.

"Asthma is a disease that touches the lives of American families every day. EPA is working hard to clean the air we breathe and reduce the environmental causes of asthma and other respiratory illnesses,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “As we mark Asthma Awareness Month, it’s important for parents and children to learn more about the disease and its triggers, so we can prevent asthma attacks and better protect our health and our children's health."

The annual economic cost of asthma, including direct medical costs from hospital stays and indirect costs such as lost school and work days, amount to approximately $56 billion. Through the Clean Air Act, EPA has helped prevent millions of asthma attacks across the country and continues to work alongside federal, state and local partners to address this nationwide problem. In 2010 alone, pollution prevention standards under the Clean Air Act lead to reductions in fine particle matter and ozone pollution that prevented more than 1.7 million incidences of asthma attacks. Recent standards, such as the 2011 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, will further reduce air pollution and help prevent asthma attacks.

Americans who suffer from asthma can learn to control their symptoms and still maintain active lifestyles. Here are some simple steps:

Know your Asthma Triggers and Avoid Them: Air pollution, dust mites, mold, secondhand smoke and even cockroaches can trigger asthma attacks. Learn your triggers and avoid them in your home and neighborhood.

Create an Asthma Action Plan: You can help avoid the emergency room by managing your asthma daily. With a doctor's help, you can create an asthma action plan to help you effectively manage your asthma and reduce exposure to triggers.

Get Active: Even if you have asthma, by taking the appropriate medications and avoiding your triggers, you can still participate in sports and activities.

Be 'Air Aware': Check local air quality conditions at airnow.gov and make informed decisions about participating in outdoor activities. To help, an Air Quality Index mobile app is available for smart phones.

A DYING STAR

FROM:  NASA
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has been on the forefront of research into the lives of stars like our sun. At the ends of their lives, these stars run out of nuclear fuel in a phase that is called the preplanetary or protoplanetary nebula stage. This Hubble image of the Egg Nebula shows one of the best views to date of this brief, but dramatic, phase in a star’s life. During the preplanetary nebula phase, the hot remains of an aging star in the center of the nebula heat it up, excite the gas and make it glow over several thousand years. The short lifespan of preplanetary nebulae means there are relatively few of them in existence at any one time. Moreover, they are very dim, requiring powerful telescopes to be seen. This combination of rarity and faintness means they were only discovered comparatively recently. The Egg Nebula, the first to be discovered, was first spotted less than 40 years ago, and many aspects of this class of object remain shrouded in mystery. At the center of this image, and hidden in a thick cloud of dust, is the nebula’s central star. While scientists can’t see the star directly, four searchlight beams of light coming from it shine out through the nebula. Researchers hypothesize that ring-shaped holes in the thick cocoon of dust, carved by jets coming from the star, let the beams of light emerge through the otherwise opaque cloud. The precise mechanism by which stellar jets produce these holes is not known, but one explanation is that a binary star system, rather than a single star, exists at the center of the nebula. The onion-like layered structure of the more diffuse cloud surrounding the central cocoon is caused by periodic bursts of material being ejected from the dying star. The bursts typically occur every few hundred years. This image is produced from exposures in visible and infrared light from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3. Image Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA

PENNSYLVANIA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS HELP AT SPECIAL OLYMPICS EVENT

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Pennsylvania Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Shawn Rouvre, a human resources sergeant from New Cumberland, Pa., congratulates 15-year-old Jocelyn Nava from Steelton, Pa., as she finishes first in a 400-meter run during the Special Olympics Area M Games at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., April 19, 2012. Army photo by Sgt. Amber Fluck  


Face of Defense: Guard Members Aid Special Olympics Event
109th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment Courtesy Article
GRANTHAM, Pa., April 27, 2012 - More than a dozen Pennsylvania Army National Guard members from 1st Battalion, 108th Field Artillery, based in Carlisle, Pa., volunteered to help athletes at the 2012 Special Olympics Area M Games at Messiah College here.


The April 19th event saw record-breaking attendance with more than 1,100 athletes, onlookers and volunteers for a day of fun and friendly competition. Soldiers came from as far away as Philadelphia to serve as line judges, time recorders, track security and presenters.


"To be given a ribbon or cheered on by their military heroes, it can't get any better than that," said Kay Straw, director of the Special Olympics Area M.
This year's presenters were Army Sgt. 1st Class Francis Manley and Army Staff Sgt. Timothy Corcoran, both from Philadelphia, and members of Battery C, 1st Battalion, 108th Field Artillery.


Manley estimates he and Corcoran awarded ribbons to nearly 100 athletes who competed in events such as the 50, 100 and 200-meter dashes, as well as the 100-meter walk and the 400-meter run. Other presenters awarded ribbons for the softball throw, wheelchair races and the standing and running long jumps.
For Manley, talking with the athletes while awarding their ribbons made the biggest impact.


"When that soldier pins that ribbon on the chest of our athlete, you can see their chest go out; when he shakes their hands or gives them a pat on the back and says, 'good job,' you can see the pride come across the face of that athlete," Straw of the Special Olympics said.
Army Staff Sgt. James Shirley, with 1st Battalion, 108th Field Artillery, knows that feeling of admiration well. Shirley, a native of Carlisle, Pa., has volunteered with the Special Olympics for three years, including serving as a buddy to a fellow soldier's autistic son.
Seeing the joy on the athletes' faces -- no matter how well they did – is what brings him back year-after-year.


Other soldiers echoed those sentiments. Despite a world full of competition, Special Olympics athletes seem genuinely happy to be competing with very little interest in whether they win awards, ribbons or trophies. One soldier said the athlete coming in last often receives the biggest applause.


It was Army Staff Sgt. Shawn Rouvre and Army Sgt. Andrew Bankert who greeted athletes crossing the finish line.


"I was a motivator," said Rouvre, a human resources noncommissioned officer who gave high-fives to the athletes. "When you see how excited they are [after finishing the race], it is an amazing experience."


Rouvre, from New Cumberland, Pa., is a third year volunteer who especially likes seeing the same athletes each year.


"I like seeing the kids growing up," he said. "They often remember us from prior years."

NASA'S WISE CATCHES AGING STAR ERUPTING WITH DUST

FROM:  NASA
A United Launch Alliance Delta II (Delta 347) rocket with NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, satellite  poised for launch at Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.  WISE  scans the entire sky in infrared light, picking up the glow of hundreds of millions of objects and producing millions of images. Credit:  NASA.


WASHINGTON -- Images from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) reveal an old star in the throes of a fiery outburst and praying the cosmos with dust. The findings offer a rare, real-time look at the process by which stars like our sun seed the universe with building blocks for other stars, planets and even life.

The star, catalogued as WISE J180956.27–330500.2, was discovered in images taken during the WISE survey in 2010, the most detailed infrared survey to date of the entire celestial sky. It stood out from other objects because it glowed rightly with infrared light.

 When compared to images taken more than 20 years ago, astronomers found the star was 100 times brighter. "We were not searching specifically for this phenomenon, but because  WISE scanned the whole sky, we can find such unique objects," said

Poshak Gandhi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), lead author of a new paper to be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Results indicate the star recently exploded with copious amounts of fresh dust, equivalent in mass to our planet Earth. The star is heating the dust and causing it to glow with infrared light. "Observing this period of explosive change while it is actually ongoing is very rare," said co-author Issei Yamamura of JAXA. "These  just eruptions probably occur only once every 10,000 years in the lives of old stars, and they are thought to last less than a few hundred years each time. It's the blink of an eye in cosmological terms."

The aging star is in the "red giant" phase of its life. Our own sun will expand into a red giant in about 5 billion years. When a star begins to run out of fuel, it cools and expands. As the star puffs up, it sheds layers of gas that cool and congeal into tiny dust particles. This is one of the main ways dust is recycled in our universe, making its way from older stars to newborn solar systems. The other way, in which the heaviest of elements are made, is through the deathly explosions, or supernovae, of the most massive stars. "It's an intriguing glimpse into the cosmic recycling program," said Bill Danchi, WISE program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Evolved stars, which this one appears to be, contribute about 50 percent of the particles that make up humans."

Astronomers know of one other star currently pumping out massive amounts of dust. Called Sakurai's Object, this star is farther along in the aging process than the one discovered recently by WISE. After Poshak and his team discovered the unusual, dusty star with WISE, they went back to look for it in previous infrared all-sky surveys. The object was not seen at all by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), which flew in 1983, but shows up brightly in images taken as part of the Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) in 1998.

Poshak and his colleagues calculated the star appears to have brightened dramatically since 1983. The WISE data show the dust has continued to evolve over time, with the star now hidden behind a very thick veil. The team plans to follow up with space and ground-based telescopes to confirm its nature and to better understand how older stars recycle dust back into the cosmos.  

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., manages and operates WISE for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The spacecraft was put into hibernation mode after it scanned the entire sky twice, completing its main objectives. The principal investigator for WISE, Edward Wright, is at the University of California, Los Angeles. The mission was selected competitively under NASA's Explorers Program managed by the agency's Goddard Space Flight

Center in Greenbelt, Md . The science instrument was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah. The spacecraft was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. Science operations and data processing take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

The IRAS mission was a collaborative effort between NASA (JPL), the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The MASS mission was a joint effort between Caltech, the University of Massachusetts and NASA (JPL). Data are archived at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at Caltech. 

NATIONAL EXPRESS AND PETERMANN TO SELL OFF SCHOOL BUS CONTRACTS TO RESOLVE ANTITRUST CONCERNS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ANTITRUST
Divestitures Will Ensure Continued Competition for School Bus Contracts
WASHINGTON — In order to resolve antitrust concerns, National Express Corporation and Petermann Partners Inc. will divest several school bus contracts and associated assets in the states of Washington and Texas in order to proceed with their proposed merger, the Department of Justice announced today. National Express and Petermann contract with school districts throughout the United States to provide school bus services.

The parties have agreed to sell eight school bus transportation contracts in the states of Texas and Washington to Student Transportation of America Inc. (STA). The divested assets include transportation contracts in the school districts of Battle Ground and Hockinson in Washington and the school districts of Bastrop, Boyd, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Leander, Manor and Terrell, as well as Dallas-based KIPP Truth Academy, in Texas.

“The sale of the assets will help ensure continued competition for school bus contracts, which will benefit taxpayers in Texas and Washington,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joseph Wayland in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.

The parties have committed to completing the divestitures within 30 days, or to have a court monitor the divestitures at that time. The school boards and entities whose contracts are being divested are in the process of approving the transfer of the contracts.

The Antitrust Division conducted its investigation working closely with the Washington and Texas State Attorney Generals’ offices, which simultaneously conducted their own investigations.

National Express Corporation, a subsidiary of National Express Group PLC of the United Kingdom, is based in Warrenville, Ill. It has revenues of more than $700 million. Petermann Partners, headquartered in Cincinnati, has revenues of approximately $150 million.

THE" BORN FREE" SEA LION

FROM:  U.S. AIR FORCE
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- An adult California Sea Lion is ready to be released into the wild by members of the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center at a remote beach here, Tuesday, April 24, 2012. The Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center rescues, rehabilitates and releases trapped and endangered marine mammals along California’s Central Coast. (U.S. Air Force photo/Jerry E. Clemens Jr.)

Rescued marine mammals released on Vandenberg beaches
by Staff Sgt. Erica Picariello
30th Space Wing Public Affairs

4/26/2012 - VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Two rescued and rehabilitated marine mammals were released on one of Vandenberg's remote beaches April 24.

A California Sea lion and a weaned Northern California Elephant Seal, referred to as a "weaner," were rescued in different locations off of California's central coast by members of the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center, but released near Vandenberg's Delta Mariner Dock.

"These mammals are found along California's Central Coast by beachgoers who assume they're in distress or dying and try to help them but end up doing more bad than good," said Peter Howorth, Santa Barbara Maine Mammal Center director. "The problem in public areas is that people won't leave [marine mammals] alone. Much of the time it's not that they need help it's that they just need to be kept away from people and dogs."

The female sea lion was found on El Capitan State Beach state park and had an injured flipper and the male "weaner" elephant seal was found in Santa Barbara. The sea lion was a resident of SBMMC for nearly a month while the uninjured elephant seal just needed a check-up and safe place to shed its baby skin.
"The elephant seals are born in the winter and they're weaned within three to four weeks of birth at which time they weigh 240 to 450 pounds," Howorth said. "As soon as they're weaned, the mom leaves them on the beach and the baby elephant seal doesn't eat and goes through a catastrophic molt. They lose the fur with the skin attached. It demands a lot of energy and they lose a lot of weight as a consequence. If you see them at the beginning of the molt it looks like they've got leprosy because there are bits of skin falling off with the skin attached. It's all perfectly normal and there is a new coat underneath that old one."

Some people see patches of the weaner's skin falling-off and take action to rescue the molting seals, but the best thing for these weaners is to provide them with privacy.

"People think, 'oh gosh, it's a marine mammal so it must stay wet!' But it's just trying to stay dry and shed its skin," Howorth said. "They don't want to be doused in water. They basically get constantly harassed so our policy is to pick them up as quickly as possible, check them out and then release them onto remote areas on the central coast where they can finish their molt in peace."

According to Howorth, one of the best places is on Vandenberg.

"Vandenberg provides one of the last unoccupied and pristine beaches for these mammals to finish molting or to find their way back to the beach that they were born," Howorth said.

SBMMC, a non-profit organization, not only rehabilitates and releases marine life on Vandenberg property, but also rescues mammals in need from Vandy's 42-miles of coastline.
"We're required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act to monitor our sensitive wildlife populations, and specifically to determine if Vandenberg space and missile launches as well as aircraft activity causes any negative impacts to the some marine life, seal and sea lion population," said Rhys Evans, 30th Civil Engineer Squadron natural resources lead. "Occasionally there are seals or sea lions in need of medical attention on Vandenberg shores and we call SBMMC for assistance. There has been at least once case this year."

This partnership with SBMMC also helps Vandenberg remain mission ready.

"We count seals before and after space launches, we use computers to determine if launches cause sonic booms either on the mainland or on the Northern Channel Islands which is subject to more significant regulation because much of the NCI are a national park and some portions are designated wilderness areas," Evans said. "We have both legal requirements and cooperative agreements on several levels with state and federal regulatory agencies, and they require us to monitor effects, potential effects and perceived effects of military operations. The SBMMC is not a regulator, but a cooperating non-profit organization, and their willingness to help us achieve some of our mandated goals is both voluntary and very much appreciated."

Allowing marine mammals to be released at Vandenberg may not be mandated, but is Non-Negotiable for some.

"We allow the marine mammals to be released here because it's the right thing to do and it doesn't expend significant government resources," Evans said. "The mammals will quite often leave the area within minutes, but it's nice to release them away from a lot of people, noise, pets... where they can have their best chance at recovery."

MOTHER AND DAUGHTER CHARGED IN ALLEGED DEBT CONVERSION WRAP AROUND SCHEME

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 
The SEC alleges that Christel S. Scucci and her mother Karen S. Beach, who live in Florida, used alter ego companies (Protégé Enterprises LLC and Capital Edge Enterprises LLC) to make more than $1.5 million from selling approximately 3.3 billion shares of purportedly unrestricted stock that they acquired in so-called debt conversion “wrap around” transactions. They were able to sell most of this stock only because Florida-based attorney Cameron H. Linton issued baseless legal opinions for them stating that the stock could be issued without restrictive legends and that their re-sales were exempt from the registration requirements of the federal securities laws.

“This case shines a spotlight on unlawful profiting from transactions designed to circumvent the registration requirements of the federal securities laws,” said Stephen L. Cohen, an Associate Director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “This should alert transfer agents, securities attorneys and other industry gatekeepers to closely scrutinize efforts to lift restrictive legends by ‘tacking’ onto delinquent debt through wrap around agreements.”

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in Orlando, Fla., this scheme involving the illegal use of wrap around agreements lasted from January 2010 to October 2011. Under the wrap around agreements, affiliates or others purportedly owed money by certain microcap issuers for more than one year assigned from the issuers to Protégé or Capital Edge the right to collect the debts. The wrap around agreements also purported to amend the initial debt agreements thereby allowing Protégé and Capital Edge to convert the money owed to them by the issuers into shares of the issuers’ common stock at a deep discount (usually 50 percent) to the prevailing market price. Protégé and Capital Edge almost always elected to receive stock from the issuers shortly after execution of the wrap around agreements. None of the transactions were registered with the SEC.

The SEC alleges that Protégé and Capital Edge paid Linton to write attorney opinion letters for them stating that their sales of the stock acquired under these wrap around agreements lawfully could be issued to them without a restrictive legend and immediately sold to the public. Protégé and Capital Edge regularly sold the stock into the public market, often for large profits, merely days or weeks after they acquired the shares through the wrap around conversions.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Linton’s legal opinion letters lacked any basis. The premise of Linton’s opinion letters was that – through the wrap around agreements and debt conversion – Protégé and Capital Edge were able to “tack” the period that had elapsed from the initiation of the original debt at least one year earlier to claim a registration exemption relying on Securities Act Rule 144(d)(3)(ii). When Linton wrote the opinion letters, he lacked an understanding of the applicable legal principles and failed to substantiate the factual predicate for his opinions. Furthermore, in mid-2010, Linton became aware of an injunction issued in a separate SEC enforcement action (SEC v. K&L International Enterprises) in which two of his letters were used in a similar scheme. Without Linton’s opinion letters, Protégé and Capital Edge couldn’t have acquired most of the stock without a restrictive legend and quickly turn around and sell it publicly.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Protégé, Capital Edge, Scucci and Beach violated Section 5 of the Securities Act. The complaint further alleges that Linton violated, or aided and abetted the violation of, Section 5 of the Securities Act. The SEC seeks disgorgement, penalties, injunctions, and penny stock bars against the defendants.

The SEC’s case was investigated by Daniel Rubenstein and Adam Eisner under the supervision of C. Joshua Felker, an Assistant Director in the Division of Enforcement. Kenneth Guido will lead the SEC’s litigation.

SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER UKRAINIAN POLITICAL PRISONERS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Treatment of Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko
Press Statement Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Washington, DC
May 1, 2012
The United States is deeply concerned by the treatment of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and other imprisoned members of her former government. The photographs of Mrs. Tymoshenko released by the Ukrainian Human Rights Ombudsman further call into question the conditions of her confinement. We urge the Ukrainian authorities to ensure that Mrs. Tymoshenko receives immediate medical assistance in an appropriate facility and request that the U.S. Ambassador be given access to her. We continue to call for her release, the release of other members of her former government and the restoration of their full civil and political rights

Panetta, Clinton joint press briefing

Panetta, Clinton joint press briefing

J-2X ENGINE READY FOR SECOND TEST SERIES

FROM:  NASA

WASHINGTON -- The next-generation engine that will help carry humans 
deeper into space than ever is back, bigger and better. The J-2X 
engine is currently on the A-2 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space 
Center in Mississippi for an extensive round of tests to build on 
last year's successful test firings. The engine will provide 
upper-stage power for NASA's evolved Space Launch System (SLS), a new 
heavy-lift rocket capable of missions to deep space. 

"We're making steady and tangible progress on our new heavy-lift 
rocket that will launch astronauts on journeys to destinations 
farther in our solar system," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, 
who recently visited Stennis and saw the J-2X in its test stand. "As 
we continue test firings of the J-2X engine and a myriad of other 
work to open the next great chapter of exploration, we're 
demonstrating our commitment right now to America's continued 
leadership in space." 

The space agency conducted an initial round of sea-level tests on the 
first developmental engine last year. This second test series will 
simulate high-altitude conditions where the atmospheric pressure is 
low. The SLS will use J-2X engines on the second stage of flight 
after the first stage is jettisoned. 

"The first round of testing helped us get to know the engine, how it 
operates and its basic performance characteristics," said Tom Byrd, 
J-2X engine lead in the SLS Liquid Engines Office at NASA's Marshall 
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "Now, we're looking forward 
to testing J-2X in the SLS flight configuration, collecting nozzle 
data and continuing to learn about the performance of the engine 
itself." 

NASA has worked closely with the J-2X prime contractor, Pratt and 
Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., to prepare the J-2X 
engine, dubbed E10001for its second round of tests. 

The J-2X engine nozzle is different from the nozzle used on the space 
shuttle main engine for the last 30 years of space missions. While 
the space shuttle main engine nozzle was hydrogen cooled to save 
weight, the J-2X hydrogen-cooled nozzle is shorter and attached to a 
lightweight, passively cooled nozzle extension. 

A total of 16 tests are scheduled, tentatively beginning this 
Wednesday. They are expected to conclude by the end of this year. 

In its first round of testing, the J-2X engine reached 100 percent 
power in just four tests and achieved a full flight-duration firing 
of 500 seconds in its eighth test, faster than any other U.S. engine. 
The engine was fired a total of 10 times for a cumulative 1,040 
seconds of testing various aspects of performance. 

The J-2X is a redesign of the heritage J-2 engine that helped send 
astronauts to the moon during the Apollo Program in the 1960s and 
1970s. In addition to testing the engine, NASA is conducting tests on 
the J-2X powerpack, which includes the gas generator, oxygen and fuel 
turbopumps, and related ducts and valves. Tests of the powerpack 
components are being conducted on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis. 

The J-2X is being developed for NASA by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne. 
It is the first new liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen rocket engine 
developed in 40 years that will be rated to carry humans into space. 

ALABAMA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO RIGGING BIDS AT REAL ESTATE FORECLOSURE AUCTIONS

FROM:  DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Friday, April 27, 2012
Alabama Real Estate Investor Agrees to Plead Guilty to Conspiracies to Rig Bids and Commit Mail Fraud for the Purchase of Real Estate at Public Foreclosure Auctions Agrees to Serve One Year in Prison

WASHINGTON – An Alabama real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty and to serve one year in prison for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama, the Department of Justice announced today.  To date, as a result of the ongoing investigation, four individuals and one company have pleaded guilty.

Charges were filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama in Mobile, Ala., against Steven J. Cox of Mobile.  Cox was charged with one count of bid rigging and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.  According to the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Cox has agreed to serve one year in prison, to pay a $10,000 criminal fine and to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation.

According to court documents, Cox conspired with others not to bid against one another at public real estate foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama.  After a designated bidder bought a property at the public auctions, which typically take place at the county courthouse, the conspirators would generally hold a secret, second auction, at which each participant would bid the amount above the public auction price he or she was willing to pay.  The highest bidder at the secret, second auction won the property.

Cox was also charged with conspiring to use the U.S. mail to carry out a scheme to acquire title to rigged foreclosure properties sold at public auctions at artificially suppressed prices, to make and receive payoffs to co-conspirators and to cause financial institutions, homeowners and others with a legal interest in rigged foreclosure properties to receive less than the competitive price for the properties.  Cox participated in the bid-rigging and mail fraud conspiracies from as early as January 2004 until at least May 2010.
           
“The Antitrust Division continues to work with its law enforcement partners to ensure that real estate foreclosure auctions are fair and competitive,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division Sharis A. Pozen.  “The division will vigorously pursue those who engage in collusive schemes to eliminate competition in the marketplace.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Mobile FBI Office Lewis M. Chapman recognized the perseverance of agents and prosecutors in this complex investigation.  Chapman stated, “This investigation sends the message that real estate fraud including antitrust violations will continue to be pursued in these tough economic times, no matter how intricate the scheme.”

Each violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals.  The maximum fine for a Sherman Act charge may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victim if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.  Each count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine in an amount equal to the greatest of $250,000, twice the gross gain the conspirators derived from the crime or twice the gross loss caused to the victims of the crime by the conspirators.